To meet future challenges, we believe the Navy should add anew dimension to its future fleet studies. We observe that on the advice ofJulian Corbett, the US Navy should disconnect traditional function fromtraditional classification in its future fleet designs, and only by doing sowill the balance between the strategic peacemaker and warfighter requirements beachieved in the future fleet while at the same time, potentially expandingtactical capabilities...

The emerging future submarine force is very different than thesubmarine force of the cold war. Today's active duty submarine force offers theNavy 574 VLS cells specific to a cruise missile deep strike capability. A futurefleet projected to include all 4 SSGNs, and perhaps 48 SSNs with VLS willfeature close to 1200 cells for cruise missiles. From a tactical perspective, atrue stealth platform like a submarine can conduct launches of land attackcruise missiles much closer to the enemy coast, allowing it much greater range,and can do so against a minor power with limited sea denial tactical capability,or a major powers with an advanced anti-access / area denial capability thatwould keep surface ships far back from the engagement line.

The idea would be to build large numbers of cheap and expendable surface craft, like patrol boats and fast catamarans to show the flag and chase Al Qaeda pirates(rather than the large, pricey, built-for-another-war super destroyers and cruisers we currently use in this role). Then the sea control duties would fall to the stealthy and virtually invulnerable attack boats, which are now armed with long-range precision weapons placing them out of range of most of the battle fleet's ASW defenses.